Tag: Simplicity_5723

The Hundred Dresses: Day 43

Erin2 Comments

This is another Simplicity 5723 (I posted it earlier, with terrible pictures):
Untitled

Despite really liking 1) this pattern and 2) green denim I’ve been a bit “meh” on this dress. Although one of the things I like about sewing with denim is how it whitens at the edges with wear:

green denim Simplicity 5723 neck view

Here’s the zip, which is really not good. I should re-do it, but I’d have to redo the seam on the other side to get the ease to fix it, and … well, it hasn’t made the top of the to-do list yet. (It hasn’t actually gotten ON the to-do list yet.)

Simplicity green denim 5723 side zipper

My favorite part of this dress is the camouflage pocket linings:

Simplicity 5723 camo pockets

I was going to make camo bias tape for the sleeve finishing as well, but, um, I didn’t.

green denim Simplicity 5723 sleeve finishing

Here’s the back view, which, in line with the rest of the kind of lick-and-a-promise I gave this dress, didn’t get settled on the dress form properly.

green denim Simplicity 5723 back view

I can’t believe we’re this far into the the hundred dresses posts … getting close to halfway! And thanks to you all, The Hundred Dresses book is doing nicely, too — some very kind reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

The Hundred Dresses: Day 21

Erin9 Comments

Have you all picked up yet on the fact that I will basically make the same pattern over and over again until we both drop from exhaustion? Here is another Simplicity 5723, which needs a bit more pressing than it got:

stripey Simplicity 5723

This is in a nice slightly-heavier-than-usual shirting stripe. I had really high hopes for this fabric, and then this happened:
stripey Simplicity 5723

No matter what I tried, I just could not get those stripes to match up. I probably took it apart four or five times. I may take it apart one more time and use some fabric tape to stave off presser-foot creep, which is what I’m blaming for the mismatch. (Well, presser foot creep and my slightly off cutting out.)

The zipper is a C:
stripey Simplicity 5723

I have no idea why I had any navy bias binding at all. My guess is that I bought it in a big lot at a yard sale:
stripey Simplicity 5723

And what happened here? Your guess is as good as mine:
stripey Simplicity 5723

This is my favorite part of this dress … I really like the chevron effect:
stripey Simplicity 5723

 

I’m not sure where I bought this … it might have been on the remnant table at Britex. It has that slick expensive-Italian-cotton feel. (And hey, when did Britex start selling online? Ooooooh! And like I NEED more places to buy fabric online … )

The Hundred Dresses: Day 20

Erin11 Comments

Wow, I can’t believe we’re a fifth of the way to the end …

Here is another dress from the same pattern as yesterday’s (Simplicity 5723):

Camo Simplicity 5723

(I blogged about this one last year, with worse pictures.)

Here’s the pocket, self-lined:

Camo Simplicity 5723

The back (Simplicity 5723 has a center back seam, which is a little bit of a pain):
Camo Simplicity 5723

The bodice/neck (I really love this fabric):
Camo Simplicity 5723

And the zipper, which is a definite C- minus on the McKean Scale of Zipper Eptness:
Camo Simplicity 5723

I generally end up wearing this dress with a cardigan (in teal, brown, or that mustardy-gold), a mustard-colored belt, and brown ballet flats.

(Today’s rollovers from Camopedia, which may be my new favorite website …)

I keep forgetting to add that there are several spreads from The Hundred Dresses up on “Inside the Book” at Amazon, if you’re looking for a sneak peek!

The Hundred Dresses: Day 19

Erin6 Comments

Today’s dress is one of my favorites:

brick pink Simplicity 5723

I blogged about it last  year (there’s a picture of me in it at that post, with bonus surprise lexicographers!) It’s from this pattern, whichI really like:
Simplicity 5723

Even though the finished skirt is nowhere near as full as the pattern envelope would suggest. And anyway, I put pockets in it (copying those of Simplicity 1577, natch):

brick pink Simplicity 5723

I’m very happy with how the print matched at the waistline:
brick pink Simplicity 5723

The zipper here is about a C+. I have come up with an invisible zipper grading scale, would you like to hear it? After the picture:
brick pink Simplicity 5723

Zipper Grading System:

A zipper: can’t see it, truly invisible except for the pull, waist seam perfectly matched;

B zipper: puckering or  indication that zipper exists (besides the pull); no zipper tape visible;

C zipper: zipper tape visible;

D zipper: unwearable, must be ripped out and redone;

F zipper: makes entire dress unfixable, might as well cut the thing up for quilt squares.

Here’s the sleeve, finished with bias binding:
brick pink Simplicity 5723

And the back. I’m just going to believe that I don’t look from the back what my dresses look like from the back — my dress form is very persnickety and always catches the material across the back:
brick pink Simplicity 5723

Here’s a picture of the fabric scale, just because I found it in my Flickr set:
rose/brick hash print

 

I really like this dress because: it fits well (dress form back view notwithstanding); it’s formal enough to give a talk in but comfortable enough to enjoy myself in; and also, I like that brick.jpgnk AND broken plaids. A twofer! I usually wear it with a black cardigan and penny loafers.

And in The-Hundred-Dresses-The-Book news — if you’ve already read it, would you consider leaving a review somewhere? (Maybe Amazon?) It’s definitely one of the things that people use to decide whether they will choose The Hundred Dresses over, say, this one.